Ocean Telecom Broadband With Netgear Router
Ocean Telecom one of the uk’s leading Domain and Hosting provider further improves its Broadband service by offering the latest Netgear router. Our customers can now get a Netgear DG834GUK v5 router with each new Broadband package purchased.
NETGEAR has a long standing reputation for quality and reliability and the NETGEAR DG834G v5 wireless modem router adds considerable power and flexibility to your network. Five products in one, it combines an ADSL2+ modem, router, 10/100 LAN switch, 802.11g wireless access point, and SPI statefull firewall.
The router is Simple to use and there is no need for a separate ADSL modem as it plugs directly into your line. Its contemporary, sleek design suits any home or office. The router is faster than ever and gives you instant connectivity with or without wires. This powerful wireless router distributes MP3s, digital movies and photos with ultra-fast speed. The router is designed to be hassle free with it’s built-in ADSL modem.
The .ME domain is all about You!
Need a website all about you? Why not choose a .ME domain extension and bring a truly personal touch to your website, blog, online photo album or portfolio – the possibilities are endless!
.ME is the Internet Country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Montenegro and is available for anyone to register worldwide, providing enormous potential for you to be creative and coin the name that suits you best.
With .COM domain names becoming increasingly saturated, why not see if your domain is available in .ME and give that extra personal touch.
Release Of Reserved Short Domain Names
On 1 December 2010 we will begin a Sunrise phase for the release of reserved short domain names.
During the Registered Rights Sunrise phase – starting at midday (GMT) on December 1st and closing at midday (GMT) January 17th – trade mark rights holders can apply for a domain that matches their trade mark. They will need evidence of using the trade mark in the UK prior to 1 January 2008, as each application will be independently verified.
If there is more than one verified application, domains will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with proceeds going to the Nominet Trust. Domains not allocated will then go forward to a second sunrise phase, when the rights qualification will be extended to unregistered rights holders. Any remaining domains will proceed to a “landrush” period in which anyone can participate. Ocean Telecom will make further announcements regarding these stages in due course.
What is an SPF Record
What is it and why would I use one?
SPF is short for sender policy framework. It is a small text file that tells ISPs who you are, and what domains you will send legitimate email from.
You publish this file on your DNS server and more and more frequently, an incomplete or inaccurate SPF Record will cause your emails to be blocked by the recipients Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Your SPF record should include information about your domain and the domains of any third-party e-mail service providers you use.
How does it work?
Anytime an e-mail is sent, the receiver’s mail server checks the domain name of the servers sending the message (hidden in the message headers). If it matches any of the domains listed in the sender’s SPF record, the mail is authenticated and delivered to the receiver. If there is no match with the published SPF record or the SPF record doesn’t exist, the mail fails authentication and is not delivered.
Why do I need to know this?
SPF records are increasingly being used as a filter for e-mail. That means that failing to put one on your domains (or that of your clients) can result in email being sent directly to the spam bin, bounced back or even deleted.
How does SPF work?
When an e-mail is sent out, the e-mail message has an envelope, a header, and the body.
There are three identities on the envelope:
1. “HELO” identity, which names the mailserver (MTA) that is sending the message
2. “MAIL FROM” identity, which is the sending e-mail address (also the email address where error message will be sent if the mail delivery should fail).
3. “RCPT TO” identity, which is the message’s recipient address.
These identities are used during the transport of the message and are generally discarded upon delivery. That is why you only see the message header and message body when you receive an email.
SPF checks the HELO and MAIL FROM identities on the envelope. It compares the sending mail server’s IP address to the list of IP addresses that are authorized to send email for that domain. The list of authorized email-sending IP addresses is stored in the domain’s SPF record, which is included in the domain’s DNS records.
In other words, if the message comes from an unknown server, or a mailserver that is not listed in the SPF record, it can be considered as fake, and the receiving mail server will handle the “fake” according to its settings.
Does Your Domain Name Have a Dirty Secret?
When it comes to choosing a domain name for your business, it helps to have a ‘dirty’ mind. Otherwise you might end up being stuck with a domain name that will get you into trouble with word-based content filters.
That’s right, if your domain name inadvertently contains a ‘naughty’ keyword or phrase, your entire Website may be blocked by content blocking filters still commonly used by large corporations, libraries, schools, and overprotective parents. Your site might also be hindered from showing up in some search engines, and some of the email messages you send from your domain could end up being blocked by spam filters.
Here are some fictitious examples of what at first appear to be innocent domain names:
- HireThisExCopper [dot-something]
- EssexWorld [dot-something]
Look closer, however, and you will notice that the first domain contains the word “sex” and the second contains the phrase “sex world.” Both of these domains could end up running into trouble with filters, especially the second one.
And can you spot what’s problematic with these domain names?
- ScanAlley [dot-something]
- CanalTours [dot-something]
Both contain the word “anal” which also poses a risk of running afoul of filters.
You get the idea…
So before deciding on your next domain name, be sure to scrutinize it carefully. Look for any and all ‘troublesome’ words and phrases. The last thing you want is to have your seemingly innocuous domain name misinterpreted by word-based content filters.
Beware of Fake Domain Name Renewal Notices
Domain name renewal schemes are nothing new – we’ve been dealing with them for years – but we figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring them to your attention once again. A quick Google search brings up thousands of examples.
The usual tactic, known as domain slamming, is fairly basic – unethical companies mine WHOIS records for Registrant information and domain expiry dates. Then, months in advance, they contact the Registrant either by mail or email with a very official looking and sounding document or message that tells them to protect their valuable name by renewing early. A Google Images search brings up a couple of scanned examples.
Of course, when the Registrant sends the cheque or pays by credit card, thinking they are doing the right thing, what actually happens is that a Registrar transfer is initiated. The Registrant will then blindly go through the steps to complete the transfer, again thinking they are doing the right thing to protect their valuable domain name.
Combatting this is really fairly simple.
WHOIS Privacy. This is the absolute best protection. It stops the practice dead in its tracks as there is no way for to contact the Registrant directly. Encourage your customers to take advantage of WHOIS Privacy and the protection it offers. Tucows includes WHOIS Privacy for free as part of our domains package.
Domain locking. A locked domain can’t be transferred, again, preventing the domain slam. The transfer attempt may generate a support call by the Registrant to remove the lock, in which case you have the perfect opportunity to make sure the transfer is legitimate.
Communication. Let your customers know about this practice and ensure that your customers know who you are and who their Registrar is. Clearly spell out your communication policies surrounding renewals (i.e. “We never send mail invoices reminding you to renew.”) before the scammers have a chance to spread their mis-information.
The Registrant is only one of the victims in domain slamming. When your customers get taken by fake notices like these, you lose their domain business. But if you take the time to educate your customers, you reap the benefits of a better relationship in which the customer knows that you are on their side, looking out for their interests.
Big Changes Coming for .CA WHOIS
Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) which operates the .ca registry, is about to introduce some big changes to its existing WHOIS policies. The changes are largely associated with what information WHOIS databases, registrars and resellers are able to disclose about registrants.
These upcoming changes will have a pretty significant impact on some of our .CA policies. Specifically:
Our public WHOIS database, like CIRA’s, will protect registrant information by default. All personal information about individual registrants will be kept private, including the name of the Registrant and the name and any contact information.
- Registrants have the ability to disable WHOIS privacy from the CIRA registrant interface if they choose to do so. It is enabled by default.
- Corporations and organizations will have the option to request similar WHOIS protection in special circumstances. It is disabled by default.
- Interested third parties will still be able to contact the registrant by using a contact form available on CIRA’s website (similar to other WHOIS privacy services).
- Resellers will be required to keep registrant information confidential, revealing personal information via telephone or otherwise under very specific circumstances only.
